We got lucky as we entered the trailhead around 8 am and met a retired couple who seemed to have done the hike before, but later found out they hadn't. We walked with them about a mile downhill over rocks and at one point had to slide on our butts to continue because there was no way to maintain our footing standing up.
Finally we arrived at the first entrance: Dry Fork Gulch. This was a slot canyon recommended by our two new companions and we walked through a narrow riverbed maybe a quarter of a mile. At some spots, we had to walk along the walls with both feet and hands along the sides as it was too narrow for your boot to take a step down. The walls on either side of us were tall...as you looked overhead you could only see a sliver of blue sky. It looked like something one would see in a travel guidebook, but it was for real.
Although we kept pace with the couple, they ditched us at the next stop, Peek a Boo. Stupid name really. I would call it Slick Mud Puddles. The initial entrance required a straight uphill climb using four indentations in the rock like you would see in an extreme outdoor documentary movie. After we scrambled up, Jackson actually helping the 3 of us, we continued through the coolest looking formations. But it was beyond our ability level, and after Chris, then Kyle, stepped in ankle-deep mud that "smelled like butt and broken dreams" (Chris's words), the two of them lost badly needed traction to advance further up the slickrock. Jackson probably could have made it further, but I was perfectly ok with aborting the mission.
Our last stop was Spooky Gulch. We returned to the wash (a riverbed that would clearly fill with rushing water during a downpour....are those clouds forming overhead??) and walked along for maybe half a mile further. At one point we slogged through sand reminiscent of Hollywood Beach. Spooky Gulch was indeed spooky...narrow to the point of having to walk sideways, remove your backpack, and hold your breath or you wouldn't fit through!
It was getting hot (already 90 and only 10:30 in the morning) as we headed back uphill to the parking area. Keep in mind this is all red clay, dusty, and there are no signs. Every now and then, a vertical pile of rocks (a cairn) led the way, but sometimes you couldn't find one. As we greeted maybe 20 hikers walking in as we were walking out, I kept thinking "I must be getting old." I can't imagine starting this late...I would not have made it back out. People die out here. Looking back at the clouds brewing makes me nervous and I hope the other hikers we greeted on the way out will be fine.
Halfway along the unpaved road, we gave the kids a break and stopped at Devil's Garden. This is an area where the Ranger recommended they could climb and enjoy themselves. I was pretty pooped and stayed at the Jeep and made the sandwiches while they scrambled around with Chris for a while. The clouds were rolling in and I was glad to be halfway off of this road already.
On the way to our last hotel in Torrey we stopped at the Ancestral Pueblo ruins at Anasazi State Park. A museum explained their way of life and the excavated ruins were left in their place and covered outside...some over 1000 years old.
We took the scenic route past free range cattle and gorgeous vistas. Enjoyed some great mexican food and by 4:30 pm our phones started dinging madly...flash flood warnings for 2 hours. Those rain clouds did, indeed, open up. Scary stuff.
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